Have you ever seen a black light? Have you ever wondered "Why is my white shirt glowing" while standing under one? I have some questions of my own. what causes things to glow in the presence of a black light? what use, practical or not, do they have? why were they invented and by who? And what the heck is black light anyway? Well I think they are an important (not to mention fun) part of modern life. But before I explain how they are in any way useful in our world, I think we should first know what exactly black light really is.
in order to understand black light, we need to know about the magical thing we call the Electromagnetic spectrum. What the Electromagnetic Spectrum tells us is the wavelengths of the various types of electromagnetic radiation. Radio waves are first in the spectrum because they have the longest wavelength. This means that the size of the radio waves is larger than that of any kind of EM radiation with a smaller wavelength. The next type of EM radiation is microwaves. And yes, these are the same kind of microwaves that reheat your food in a microwave oven. Microwaves have the second largest wavelength in the spectrum. Next up is Infrared radiation. these are just below red in the visible spectrum of light hence the name infrared. I believe this is used in security systems with the trip lasers. After infrared radiation we have the visible light spectrum which, believe it or not, is actually electromagnetic radiation. The colors have different wavelengths and above infrared is regular visible red. Then the colors go in the order of the rainbow until we get to violet which has the shortest wavelength in the visible spectrum. This means anything above violet or below red is invisible to us humans. Then above violet we get something I'm sure you've heard of, Ultraviolet radiation. There are three types of UV radiation: UVa UVb and UVc. UVa is the safest of the three with the wavelength closest to visible light, with UVc being the most dangerous. Black lights Are basically UV light producers and are of the UVa type.
Now that we've finally gotten to black light on the EM spectrum I can tell you all how it works. We all probably know how black lights cause some objects to glow. But why do some things glow and why do other things not? It has something to do with these things scientists call phosphors. Black lights produce very little visible light as most of the light is released in the form of invisible UV light. When UV light come into contact with these phosphors the UV light is absorbed and released as visible light which makes the object appear to glow or as scientists say "fluoresce". This was and is used in many cool ways. Black lights were used as a way for fighter pilots to see the controls of his or her plane while not giving of visible white light to give him/her away to the enemy. The US dollar bill has an invisible strip that only appears under a black light and most commercial paper has phosphors added which makes discovering counterfeit money easier. Black lights are also used in medicine to help find and kill bacteria and other contaminants that could cause sickness. CSI agents use black lights to check a crime scene and dust for fingerprints and look for other evidence. For example, most body fluids like saliva or sweat contain phosphors. A more practical use of black lights is in bowling alleys or laser tag arenas where they use special paint designed to glow when under black lights and make the place look cooler, or in a reptile exhibit for reasons I don't actually know to be honest.
The Man who Invented the black light was a man named Will Byler in 1935 while he was working at the general electric labs researching how electricity could be used to help cure disease. He invented the "Ultraviolet Black light Bulb" using Woods glass, invented 27 years prior and called his new invention the "Woods Lamp". 5 yearslater he suggested the use of theses black lights for fighter pilots in WW2.
Well thats all I got on black lights. We've learned what a black light is, how it works, who invented it and why and how they were and are used. I'd say thats a lot of learning in such a short time( It took me almost 6 days! ). I think black lights are a useful tool in modern life and I shall stand by this belief..
in order to understand black light, we need to know about the magical thing we call the Electromagnetic spectrum. What the Electromagnetic Spectrum tells us is the wavelengths of the various types of electromagnetic radiation. Radio waves are first in the spectrum because they have the longest wavelength. This means that the size of the radio waves is larger than that of any kind of EM radiation with a smaller wavelength. The next type of EM radiation is microwaves. And yes, these are the same kind of microwaves that reheat your food in a microwave oven. Microwaves have the second largest wavelength in the spectrum. Next up is Infrared radiation. these are just below red in the visible spectrum of light hence the name infrared. I believe this is used in security systems with the trip lasers. After infrared radiation we have the visible light spectrum which, believe it or not, is actually electromagnetic radiation. The colors have different wavelengths and above infrared is regular visible red. Then the colors go in the order of the rainbow until we get to violet which has the shortest wavelength in the visible spectrum. This means anything above violet or below red is invisible to us humans. Then above violet we get something I'm sure you've heard of, Ultraviolet radiation. There are three types of UV radiation: UVa UVb and UVc. UVa is the safest of the three with the wavelength closest to visible light, with UVc being the most dangerous. Black lights Are basically UV light producers and are of the UVa type.
Now that we've finally gotten to black light on the EM spectrum I can tell you all how it works. We all probably know how black lights cause some objects to glow. But why do some things glow and why do other things not? It has something to do with these things scientists call phosphors. Black lights produce very little visible light as most of the light is released in the form of invisible UV light. When UV light come into contact with these phosphors the UV light is absorbed and released as visible light which makes the object appear to glow or as scientists say "fluoresce". This was and is used in many cool ways. Black lights were used as a way for fighter pilots to see the controls of his or her plane while not giving of visible white light to give him/her away to the enemy. The US dollar bill has an invisible strip that only appears under a black light and most commercial paper has phosphors added which makes discovering counterfeit money easier. Black lights are also used in medicine to help find and kill bacteria and other contaminants that could cause sickness. CSI agents use black lights to check a crime scene and dust for fingerprints and look for other evidence. For example, most body fluids like saliva or sweat contain phosphors. A more practical use of black lights is in bowling alleys or laser tag arenas where they use special paint designed to glow when under black lights and make the place look cooler, or in a reptile exhibit for reasons I don't actually know to be honest.
The Man who Invented the black light was a man named Will Byler in 1935 while he was working at the general electric labs researching how electricity could be used to help cure disease. He invented the "Ultraviolet Black light Bulb" using Woods glass, invented 27 years prior and called his new invention the "Woods Lamp". 5 yearslater he suggested the use of theses black lights for fighter pilots in WW2.
Well thats all I got on black lights. We've learned what a black light is, how it works, who invented it and why and how they were and are used. I'd say thats a lot of learning in such a short time( It took me almost 6 days! ). I think black lights are a useful tool in modern life and I shall stand by this belief..
Here again, I love the knowledge you display here, but the writing elements leave me almost frustrated. The part that really got me upset was the way you concluded the piece. I use the word upset because I hold you in high regard; I have respect for your intellect, but when I read that conclusion it makes me feel that you are almost dismissive about your own prowess. If you write at a higher level, it will more accurately reflect your level of thinking. See me if you want to try to attack those issues.
ReplyDelete